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Replacements
Inexpensive genetic constructs intended to serve as body doubles or expendable troops, Replacements are vat-grown, chemically-cultivated life-forms. A Replacement is cultured from a sample of dermal tissue (skin cells or hair follicles will not do) of a given subject, which is also known as a Primary. Vastly simpler to create than proper clones, Replacements emerge with none of the memories of the Primary, but can be easily given treatments via observation and learning arrays to allow them to act like a given individual. Replacements have thus far only been human or demi-human. It is believed that the process could be adapted for others, but the reduction in demand for Replacements has caused such research to be curtailed. Appearance At a glance, Replacements resemble the Primary they were grown from (traditionally, a human). This similarity is only superficial, however - A Replacement's body cannot fool medical scanners or DNA scanners, though they can fool fingerprint scans. Closer investigation yields that Replacements have a slightly paler skin-tone than their Primary. The most clear and obvious difference, however, is their eyes - A Replacement's eyes are completely black, making it impossible to see their irises or pupils (which are likewise black) without exceptionally bright light. This trait is exceptionally unnerving to most, and to get around it, most Replacements wear sunglasses or use contact lenses. Jeanne, one of the better-known replacements in the Mirandian region, wore hard contacts that were specifically designed to hide what her eyes actually looked like. The metabolism of a Replacement is largely based on artificial tissue kept animate through chemical processes. As such, their blood is a tell-tale purple color and tends to have a chemical smell that is easily detected by dogs (or Red). Noteworthy Attributes Replacements have a number of unusual traits as a result of how they are created. Essentially powered by synthesized tissue, a Replacement is as much a biochemical construct as a genetic one. The nature of their creation instills them with a pre-programmed life-span - one to five years on average - and though they have internal organs like any conventional humanoid, Replacements have the added benefit of being able to slowly heal themselves at a faster rate than their Primary owing to the cocktail of chems running through their bodies at all times. As a downside of this, however, most potions and chems do not work on Replacements. Indeed, BioCort and Raxian MediShard Paste are the only chems reliably shown to work on Replacements. Replacements are not susceptible to most diseases, most common poisons, and are largely immune to low-level radiation. Due to their chemically-enhanced eyes, they cannot be flash-blinded. As a Replacement's preprogrammed lifespan begins to count down, the chemical processes that subsist them begin to become unstable. The Replacement's synthetic tissue begins breaking down, and begins to manifest as symptoms that are, in early stages, easily confused for Tuberculosis. In the final phases, the Replacement's body begins to suffer catastrophic problems as circulatory and nervous tissue fail, causing the Replacement to suffer a horrid end and traditionally dissolving into a pool of chemical sludge. A theoretical treatment for Replacements that replenishes the fluids responsible for keeping them alive and replacing damaged organs with vat-grown copies is in research by no less than four major corporations, but the treatment is, by all accounts, almost three years off before it's even able to leave the prototype phase. Replacements are invariably weaker than their primary in some aspect or another when created, often being physically weaker. This is only true when first produced, however, and Replacements can become stronger over time through physical and mental training and supplements, however. Origin Replacements are considered a failure by the companies that first launched them, but they remain in both production and use. They were originally developed to act as decoys for VIPs - corporate heads, movie stars, and so on. Several high-level Renalian movies used Replacements as stunt doubles. Interestingly, at first, Replacements were treated with considerable respect by Renalian standards - they were doing work that nobody else could do and which, indeed, nobody wanted to acknowledge. Keeping a Replacement acting as a body double comfortable in their limited lifespan was considered both good business sense and a morally right thing to do. However, times changed. Multiple corporations began to move away from Replacements, and other corporations began to use the tech much less scrupulously. Within the span of a decade, Replacement technology was being offered as a way to get quick, easy-to-use duplicates to fill seats or act as expendable troops. Because Replacements cost vastly less than Clones, it wasn't long at all before the tech went blackmarket and found its way into seedier culture. Several Renalian undercity clubs were fond of having dancers that were Replacements of especially beautiful or popular celebrities of either gender. Militant groups, like Destiny's Call, eventually got a hold of the technology and was fond of using it to create Replacements of political officials in various governmental positions and attempting to use them as sleeper agents. DC was also fond of trying to recruit free Replacements, offering them a place to belong and possibly a way to extend their own lives if only these Replacements would fight for them. Replacements fell out of favor several years ago, when a large batch of military replacements, mostly with 1 and 2-year lifespans, revolted and attempted a violent coup against Royal Industries, a major developer of consumer luxury goods. By this point, the only remaining developers of Replacements were military firms, and by this point the technology had such a bad rap against it and the plight of Replacements had become such a major issue in locations as corporate-friendly as Renalia that it was easier to phase the tech out and avoid litigation than it was to actually address the issue. The bulk of Replacement technology currently is widely available via blackmarket channels and is distressingly inexpensive, but does require both facilities capable of using it and professionals to make use of it, which are both, perhaps thankfully, are in short supply. Culture Replacements have no Culture per se: They are duplicates and historically that is all they've been. Though many of them took great pride in their work (short lifespan and all) in the earliest days of their use, which included work that saved the lives of dignitaries and important officials, their tech was quickly subverted and within a few years they were used as everything from mail-order spouses to soldiers, and though mental imprinting via learning arrays can ensure what a Replacement knew by default, they are still in every way individual creatures with the ability to think, feel, and reason.